The
people who helped make Batman are being unmade. First Leslie Tompkins was
murdered. Then Alfred was attacked. Now Batman is following the clues to lead
him to others that recognize the Bruce Wayne connection, and may be either
predator or prey.
The trail
leads all over the world, and reminds me of the original Ras al Ghul story from
the Bronze age. Mahnke seems to be channeling his inner Neal Adams, which is
almost never a bad thing for any artist. Kudos to inkers Jaime Mendoza and Mark
Irwin for maintaining the integrity of Mahnke’s pencils, permitting the artwork
to remain consistent throughout.
All this is
building toward the landmark Detective
Comics #1,000, which will (hopefully) include a bit of a re-set for the
Batman family. As Bruce tells Damian in one scene, “When this over, you and I
need to talk – straighten out this thing between us and make it right.”
I’ve always believed their relationship to be tenuous, and as a reader I would
appreciate a greater degree of comfort there.
I’ve been
enjoying this storyline, as much as two chapters will allow. It has distilled
Batman down to his comfortable basics, much like Batman: The Animated Series once did. I am hopeful this trend
continues for the foreseeable future, making one of DC’s flagship characters
accessible to all.
Rating:
8/10